Leisure Outdoor Adventures (LOA) is a world class fishing, hunting, outdoor, outfitting business. If it's a guided fishing trip on one of Minnesota's beautiful lakes or pheasant hunt in the prairie of North Dakota we can help! Book a trip with Leisure Outdoor Adventures and "GET HOOKED" on an adventure of a lifetime.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

This winter we have been busy moving fish houses, scouting new spots, and catching an awful lot of fish through the ice. When it comes to finding fish, reading structure, and figuring out what is below the ice I can honestly say we would be blind without our Vexilars. Many of us on Team LOA have been using the FL 22 HD and it has been an important tool in our ice fishing success and here is why....

With
the evolution of the ice fishing industry in the last ten to twenty
years, anglers across the country have become better and better at
putting fish on the ice because of technology such as improved augers,
GPS systems, ice shelters, lures, and the list goes on and on. But in
order to separate yourself and become one of the “best” at what you do
or what are you are chasing under the ice, it comes down to one piece of
technology that has been tried and true since it first came out, and
that is the flasher. It is a piece of technology that can simply tell
you the story of what lies beneath that sheet of ice you are on. Let me
explain why.Vexilar
flashers have been around since 1960 and since then have been pioneers
in the flasher industry. Within the last year one of their flashers has
emerged as a ice fishing tool that encompasses many of the features
that can help you unlock the mystery under the ice and that is the
FL-22HD.

The Zoom Feature:
The ability to utilize the unit’s zoom features, both in 6 and 12 foot
options,and in combination with the ¼ inch separation has been a recipe
for putting fish on the ice. The zoom feature is something that if you
haven’t fished with it before you are missing out. Having the ¼ target
separation literally allows you to see if that walleye has its lips near
your jigging spoon or lure. Being someone who fished with an FL-8 for
years, once I switched to this feature, I was blown away how much
clearer of a picture it gives you of the fish’s mood and reactions
towards your jigging cadence. Having the ability to also switch between
6’ and 12’ allows you to also be versatile and focus in on those
suspended fish, whether they are walleyes cruising, crappies suspended,
or even tullibees.

The Flat Screen and Depth Range Features:The
unit provides a flat screen three color LED display featuring red as
strong targets, orange as medium, and green as weak targets. Because of
the six ten foot increment display, you are able to effectively match
your depth range, which increases the resolution resulting in a crisper
image of your lure and the mood of the fish towards it.

Tri-Beam Transducer:The
feature that separates it from any other is its Tri-Beam transducer.
This transducer has a toggle switch mounted to the Vexilar casing that
allows you, the fisherman, to switch between an 8/12/20 degree cone
angle. What this gives you is the option to be able to fish a wide
array of water depths and yet adapting to what is beneath the ice giving
you the best possible cone angle to fish within the water column. This
unit really shines if you are shallow water angler. Having the ability
to have a large cone radius in shallower water simply allows you to pick
up schools of fish sooner.. As a group of ice anglers at Leisure
Outdoor Adventures, we find ourselves hunting fish of all species in the
winter from walleyes to crappies, and this often times means cutting
holes throughout the water column. This simple tool allows us to hone
in on schools of fish better and yet constantly adapt to the fishes
movement and patterns.

Durability:If
there is one thing as an ice fisherman you need with any of your
equipment that is durability and the confidence your equipment is going
to hold up to what mother nature has to throw at you. The flashers
produced by Vexilar come with various options for the flasher to be
mounted on such as the Genz Pack, Pro Pack II, or Ultra Pack. All are
made with plastic meant to hold up to the ice, slush, and wear and tear
equipment takes through the winter. Another key feature is the amount
of battery life you get when using these units. Under the right
conditions and with proper care and maintenance a Vexilar battery can
last up to 30 hours without a charge, which simply gives you the peace
of mind to fish harder or to know you can sit in that fish house for a
weekend and not have to worry about running out of juice. This
cutting edge technology has allowed our team now has the capability to
adapt to any conditions and depth changes below the ice. You can’t go
wrong with this product and what it offers. For more information, go to
www.vexilar.com.

**Helpful Vexilar Advice**If
you are marking and working a fish on your Vexilar and it backs away
and goes back towards what looks like the bottom, it is actually more
than likely that fish backing away from the lure off to the side of your
hole and leaving your cone angle. Take this into consideration when
trying to trigger that fish into biting.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Leisure Outdoor Fishing Guide and big pike specialist Mike Crawford has been up on Lake of the Woods chasing monster pike. If you have ever wanted to catch a trophy pike through the ice this is a trip for you! Contact us at 855-562-4665 (LOA-HOOK) for complete details.

Make sure to check out the videos below!

Here is Mike's latest report:

The bite is on for giant pike.... I just arrived home from a few
incredible days of fishing them on Lake of the Woods with some great
friends, and wow, what a few days it was! We began fishing a deep water
flat Thursday afternoon and it wasn’t long before we had our first
giant of the year on the ice. A massive 44 incher that just couldn’t
resist a Bigtooth Tackle fluorocarbon rig. From there, the bite was on!
Over the next couple days, fishing was on fire and we were able to
catch and release 12 more giant pike over that magical 40” mark,
including many more between 36”-40”. Lucky for us, not only were the
giant pike hungry in the deep water, but so was everything else, as we
managed to catch a bunch of walleyes and a few bonus jumbo 13” perch.
When targeting fish like this, remember the number one key is bait. The
area we fished was loaded with bait and this was probably the reason so
many big fish were in such a small area. Days like this are not
uncommon on Lake of the Woods, which is why I spend the majority of my
time and effort out there chasing these giant fish. Here are the
photos!!!

"Get Hooked and Make a Memory!"
Jeff "Jiggy" Andersen

Book a Guided Fishing Trip with Leisure Outdoor Adventures Fishing Team at www.LeisureOutdoorAdventures.com
We are providing guided fishing trips on many lakes including the
Brainerd Lakes Area, Gull Lake, Whitefish Chain, North Long, Pelican
along with the Leech Lake Area.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Wow, what a busy weekend for LOA and the town of Walker. The last 10-14 days have been jam-packed with rentals, guided trips and just plain old fashioned winter time fun. As far as the fishing, here is the most up to date report we have:

Walker Bay - Fishing has been very good for walleyes in Walker Bay. Shoreline breaks and mid lake "humps" in 24-29 feet have been best. The Sand and Cedar point area has been kicking out a few walleyes, along with some perch and an occasional pike. Hot lures have been a Gold and Red Macho Minnow, or any simliar spoon that has glow or flash. Make sure you bring your Vexilar, as most fish have been hugging the bottom pretty tight.

Cloudy days have provided an excellent mid day bite accompanied by your typical morning and evening prime time hours. The high pressure system that moved in mid week along with the colder temps didn't seem to affect the fishing very much at all. Ice conditions have improved in the bay and we are finding a consistent 12-13 inches of ice almost everywhere we have traveled. Most are still moving around on ATV's and small vehicles, but some full size truck traffic is starting to show up as the week progresses.

Main Lake - the best perch action has been found in the Grand View flats area as well as around Goose Island in 9-12 ft. The main perch bite is still a ways off, but people are finding enough to sort through and keep for a meal or two. Walleye action has been decent during the morning and evening hours in these places as well. Gold Macho minnows and Flyer Spoons have been working best for walleyes, and small spoons in glow Red or Green have been the go-to for perch. The majority of people have been accessing the lake through "The Shores of Pine Point" resort. Ice conditions on the main lake are very good, with most places reporting 14+ inches of ice. The little amount of snow we have has allowed anglers to travel off road to hit all of their favorite "hot spots". Looks like we may have some coming this weekend, so stay tuned for further reports on travel conditions.

We still have fish house rentals available. If you would like to rent a house or spend a day on the lake with one of our fishing guides, give us a call at 855-LOA-HOOK and book your next memory!